CHRIS BURN
/ JOHN BUTCHER / RHODRI DAVIES / JOHN EDWARDS
The First Two Gigs
EMANEM
4063
Good things
often come in small packages.
A vest pocket version of the octet/nonet Ensemble, British pianist Chris
Burn has been leading on-and-off since 1984, this quartet on its maiden
voyages seems more focused than the larger group, perhaps because each
of the musicians has to assert himself even more in a more compact situation.
Recorded in two different London clubs in sessions four months apart,
to be honest, the performances here don't sound at all like that of four
musicians groping towards a common modus operandi. Perhaps it's because
each has some sort of playing experience with at least one of the others.
John Butcher, acknowledged as one of improv's paramount saxophone explorers,
has been associated with Burn and Ensemble since the late 1970s. Welsh
harpist Rhodri Davies is another member of Ensemble and has recorded with
the saxophonist on other occasions. And John Edwards may be the busiest
free music bassist in London, having recorded with the likes of pianist
Veryan Weston and saxophonist Evan Parker as well as Butcher among many
others.
Thus all that really appears to be needed in these six longish tracks
that run from 61/2 minutes to a little more than 16 minutes is for the
musicians to find a comfortable place, unpack their axes start playing.
United in their singularity, each seems to pride himself on producing
the most unusual and hithertofore unheard sounds from his instrument.
Not that novelty for the sake of novelty is being indulged. Instead, to
mix a metaphor, the four see (hear?) their instruments as blank canvases
on which they can project any innovative and fresh sound they want, regardless
of how the instrument is supposed to sound. Identifying the source of
one tone or another then becomes the listener's challenge, with some easier
to classify than others.
Sometimes, as on "The Remove," Butcher will produce enough echo
himself to make it appear that he's improvising in a hollow cistern or
long tunnel, while "Souvenir de Docteur" begins with what sounds
like Edwards sawing his bass in half. In the same piece Burn appears to
be playing on prepared piano strings, unlike the misnamed "Low Standard"
-- it isn't -- where you wonder whether the percussive tones arise from
the pianist or the harpist.
Elsewhere, as on "High Standard," Butcher supplants his aviary
whistles and chicken clucks with a session of billowing trills, then uses
circular breathing to hold one note and its resulting overtones for a
protracted period as the string section bows and wiggles around it.
Summing up all that comes before and goes afterwards, "Scharlachglut,"
the longest track, has time to develop from a low-key interlude to a louder,
speedier mid section before fading to silence. As it develops, metallic
scratches give way to what appear to be someone -- perhaps Davies -- seemingly
scrubbing clothes on a washboard. For luck, or just color, Edwards begins
to knock on the wood of his bass, while the clank of foreign objects announce
that the piano has been prepared for a percussion function. Introducing
soprano reed quacks, the saxophonist joins Burn in duet, while something
that resembles the sound of grain being rolled around on the table enliven
the keystrokes. With Butcher alternating among vibrato-reed kisses, key
pops and subterranean tongue flutters, Edwards plucks a short counter
melody.
Now that Burn and Co. have put together an Ensemble that's compact enough
to be cost-effective for notoriously cash-strapped avant music presenters,
hopefully the four will play many more than these first two gigs. That
way we can hear many more remarkable CDs like this one.
--
Ken Waxman
Track
Listing: 1. Low Standard 2. High Standard 3. The Remove 4. Scharlachglut
5. Russelliana 6. Souvenir de Docteur
Personnel:
John Butcher (soprano and tenor saxophones); Chris Burn (piano and percussion);
Rhodri Davies (harp); John Edwards (bass)